Protect Me
by Charming Slayer
Summary: Two new arrivals hit the bay, but they aren't who they pretend to be. Why are they really there? Why did they leave the city?
1. Holly and Ronan

Protect me  
  
A/N: This is set before Psycho Sarah is out of rehab. Just so I don't confuse you Laurissa and Fred are using the Aliases of 'Holly' and 'Ronan' but I will refer to them by their real names. The people of Summer Bay however will refer to them as Holly and Ronan. Don't worry it'll make sense when you read the story.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Home and Away belong to...well actually I don't know, but they ain't mine sadly. However Laurissa and Fred are mine so nobody can else 'em but me.  
  
Part 1: Holly and Ronan  
  
She watched him move about the boat with great interest. Every move he made was so swift, so natural, and so perfect. In the years she had known him she would have never guessed he would end up here working on the Blaxland. She was proud of him when she discovered that this is what he was doing with his life. She smiled as he disappeared into the cabin to fetch something below deck.  
  
"So are we going to go talk to him?" Her boyfriend asked from behind her.  
  
She turned to face the man she had returned to the bay with. She wasn't given a choice in bringing him. He wasn't exactly happy in her choice to come to the bay. In fact he protested against it for hours in the biggest fight the couple had ever have. She would have broken it off with him then and there except she couldn't. She needed him. Not in the I-need-you-cause- I-need-a-boyfriend way, but in the you-better-stay-with-me-or-we're-gonna- get-killed kind of way.  
  
"He's working" She replied.  
  
"Laurissa we look like stalkers standing here. If you're not even going to talk to him then maybe we should agree to go where the cops want to place us" Her boyfriend suggested.  
  
"Don't call me Laurissa, Ronan" She hissed. "Remember what I told you about fake names. You're Rowan" She pointed to him before pointing at herself. "and I'm Holly for now"  
  
"Ronan? Laur- I mean Holly why do I have to be Ronan?" He complained.  
  
"'Cause its much sexier than Fred" She snapped.  
  
The man on the boat had appeared to remain below deck. Laurissa sighed in disappointment. She caved into Fred as they headed back to the car.  
  
That was another thing he had not been impressed with. Fred knew very well that he would not be allowed to drive his convertible BMW around anymore, but he had no idea what car Laurissa would find for him. It was a run down blue lazar with fading P plates stuck onto it. Laurissa told him that a P platter with a car as high quality as Fred's would be easily spotted. Both Laurissa and Fred had fathers who were well off and lead a luxurious life. Fred's car was part of it all. He told Laurissa giving it up felt like loosing part of his soul. She just rolled her eyes and ignored his continuous whining as they drove from the city.  
  
"Where to? It better be close before this car breaks down" Fred stated.  
  
"Oh just shut-up about the car. Its fine." Laurissa glanced back at the docks for a moment before looking straight at the road ahead. "Go to the caravan park"  
  
Fred thought about complaining. He did not want to stay for who knows how long in a caravan park. No matter what Laurissa thought he wasn't as stupid as she believed. Fred knew he couldn't stay in an expensive hotel. Neither of them were going to be able to use their credit cards and between them there was no way they'd have enough money to stay somewhere expensive when they didn't know how long they were going to be in the bay.  
  
"We have to go into the house? They don't even have an office?" Fred continued to complain as Laurissa lead him from the car to the house.  
  
"Yes Ronan" She used his fake name just to annoy him.  
  
Only Matilda was there that day. She had no idea where her mother was, Rhys was working and the boys were out doing immature boy stuff. Matilda didn't mind though. She happily sat on the couch watching a DVD. Usually at this time in the afternoon it would normally be on football.  
  
Just as Nicole Kidman was going to begin to sing to Ewan McGregor their 'secret song' a teenage couple entered into the house.  
  
"The door was open" The boy said explaining why they had just walked into the house.  
  
[I] No he's not a boy. He's a man[/I] Matilda thought to herself. She liked the looks of this one. He looked suave and expensive. Not at all like the normal customers.  
  
The girl looked the same. She was wearing clothes that you certainly wouldn't be able to find at Yabbie creek. Her long strawberry blonde hair flowed over her shoulders and bounced as she walked into the house.  
  
"Hi. I'm Holly and this is Ronan" Laurissa introduced the couple to Matilda.  
  
"I'm Matilda" She replied still looking at Fred.  
  
Laurissa knew what Matilda was doing. She was checking out Fred. Laurissa couldn't help but smile. If this Matilda knew Fred's personality she wouldn't be acting so charming with him.  
  
"I suppose you're here for a van?" Matilda asked Fred.  
  
Although Laurissa really didn't care if Matilda thought her 'boyfriend' was good looking, Laurissa decided that she'd make things clear for the girl. Fred was going to be Laurissa's man as long as she needed him to be. So in order to make things clear Laurissa moved closer to Fred, slipping her hand into his.  
  
"Yes please Matilda" Laurissa continued to speak for the couple. "But we're not sure how long we're staying"  
  
"That's fine. I'll put you down for a week." Matilda went to the small table where the book and keys for the caravan park sat. "I'll put you in van six. Do you want me to show you where it is?"  
  
"No. This park isn't that big. I'm sure we can find it by ourselves" Laurissa smirked as she played with Fred's hair.  
  
"No what brings you to Summer bay?" Matilda quickly asked before Laurissa could whisk Fred away.  
  
"Love" Laurissa answered brilliantly. "Our parents don't want us to be together so we had to get away. I'm sorry Matilda, maybe we can talk some other time, but Ronan and I have to go unpack"  
  
Matilda's face fell. Trying to get the single Kim to notice her was one thing, but she had no hope if this 'Ronan' guy was really in love. She said her goodbye and turned back to Moulin Rouge.  
  
"Did you mean what you said back there?" Fred asked Laurissa as they headed to their van.  
  
"What? About meaning to unpack? Yeah" Laurissa briskly replied as she counted the caravans.  
  
"You know what I was talking about. The whole can't keep your hands off me and saying we're here for love. Was it real or just another one of your games?" He asked as she walked up the steps to their van.  
  
Laurissa opened the caravan and waited until they were both inside until she turned to Fred to answer him.  
  
"I don't play games. You and I were over a long time ago. You knew that we only spent the last two weeks together to keep up appearances. And then...this happened" Laurissa didn't want to say any details of why they were in the bay out loud. "I had to think of something to say to Matilda so that was the first thing that popped into my head" "You could have just said we were there for a holiday. Do you have to be so dramatic all the time?" Fred asked flopping down on the bed.  
  
"Ugh. If you're just going to fight with me then I'm going for a walk. You can start unpacking if you want." Laurissa stated as she exited the van.  
  
Laurissa walked down by the docks in hopes of catching her friend. It was heading towards sunset, so he'd have to be off work soon. It was a warm day and Laurissa enjoyed the fact that she could wear her thongs wherever she went in the bay.  
  
Laurissa sat on the grass and just stared at the bay for a moment. She wasn't mad at Fred. He meant less and less to her as the weeks wore on. They had started out as the cute high school couple. The pair couldn't keep their hands off each other. Fred would shower Laurissa in gifts and she would go everywhere with him. Then it slowly began to wear off. It only took Laurissa a couple of weeks to realize that she and Fred were only together for show.  
  
They both attended an elite private school and were both well known in the upper class part of Sydney. Someone at their age couldn't attend important functions without a date so they continued to go out together. Although Fred was a little slower than Laurissa he knew what was happening between them. He just didn't want to let go of a good thing.  
  
They were forced to come to the bay because of an extreme situation. The pair could lie to their friends and family easily if they were going away together. Plus having a buff male around was a positive for Laurissa as it was protection for her.  
  
She was only sitting for a few minutes when she heard someone call her name. It wasn't the alias that she was using, but her real name. Fred wouldn't dare to call out her real name to her, which meant it could only be one other person.  
  
Laurissa stood up and saw her friend walking towards her. She smiled at him. He had grown up a lot since she had seen him last.  
  
"Kane, hi" 


	2. Why are you here?

**Part 2: Why are you Here?**

_A/N: I forgot to put it in before, but in the last part Laurissa says that Ronan is a sexier name than Fred. I just want to say I have nothing against the name Fred. In fact the character is named after Fred Weasley from Harry Potter who is one of my favourite characters of the series._

_Also just in case I never get a chance to put it in the story: Laurissa was Kane's next-door neighbor. Her older brother is David (Davey) who Kane mentioned to Kirsty during their time in the bush after the shipwreck. I'll explain later while Kane is closer to Laurissa rather than David._

Kane and Laurissa hugged and kissed each other's cheeks happily before Kane asked the question.

"Laurissa what are you doing back in the bay?"

"Listen Kane you can't call me Laurissa at the moment. For now my name is Holly." She explained upset that she had to say this.

"Why? What's going on?" Kane was instantly suspicious of his friend's actions.

Laurissa looked down at the ground for a moment. She knew that she was going to have to tell Kane everything. He wasn't the type to like being left in the dark. Laurissa couldn't though. She wouldn't. She refused to put Kane in danger. Laurissa knew that Kane had a rough childhood she didn't want to cause any more harm that may come of him.

"You're married" She pointed out as she saw his wedding ring glimmer in the sun.

Laurissa didn't mean to use it as a distraction. It just came out. She had no idea that Kane was married now and seeing the ring had surprised her. Kane wasn't much older than her and she had no plans to get married anytime soon. Especially since the only man currently in her life was Fred.

"Yeah..." Kane allowed himself to bask for a moment in that very fact.

"Congratulations!" Laurissa happily gave Kane another hug.

It wasn't something completely unexpected. Laurissa and Kane had been close at one point. Her happiness for him was genuine. Kane was just not used to it. It would be the normal thing for anyone to say upon discovering his wedding ring, but not in Summer Bay.

"So who? When? And why wasn't I invited?" Laurissa asked with a grin on her face.

"It wasn't really a big wedding." Kane admitted as the pair began to walk together, not really knowing where they were heading.

They walked a little more with each other not talking. That was until Kane's patience grew thin. He never had much to begin with, but for someone who was almost family for him he wasn't going to loose his temper.

"Why are you in the bay Holly? What's going on?" He asked.

"Can we go some place to talk? There's a few things I need to explain" Laurissa answered.

She knew that there was little hope of hiding anything from Kane. Not that she was going to tell him the entire story. That, for now, would still be kept between her and Fred.

"The bayside diner...why do I have a feeling that I've been here before?" Laurissa asked as they entered the infamous diner.

It wasn't too busy in there, which suited Laurissa fine. She wasn't too keen on having the nosy kids of Summer bay trying to work out who she was. Laurissa knew how the town worked. Everyone knew who everyone else was. Except for Laurissa's family who had moved to the city and long forgotten.

"It used to the Beachside diner before Colleen decided to create a fire" Kane grumbled as the old woman watched them slide into the booth.

"Oh yeah. I've been there before. We were heading to the beach for my birthday and I wanted a burger so we came in here. Course my parents saw this place as too good for them and we left as soon as could fit the last piece of the burger into my mouth." Laurissa sighed as she looked around the place.

She liked what she saw. During her teenage years all Laurissa had seen was pretty much the finer side of Sydney. Occasionally she'd be able to enter some kind of fast food restaurant, but never anything like the Bayside diner. There was just something so friendly about it. Maybe it just the fact that everyone seemed to speak to the staff as if they were all friends. In a town like Summer bay they probably were.

"Wow, I can't believe the Zalika's actually ate here" Kane snapped.

He regretted the nastiness of his tone as soon as he finished the sentence. He knew very well that Laurissa's family were very well off and perceived themselves as upper class society. It was the reason that they moved to the city in the first place. It although never effected the relationship between Laurissa and Kane until she moved away. Kane had never once remembered seeing Laurissa act as a child should have acted in their circle of people. In fact she was one of the most down to earth people he knew at the time.

"Don't say my name out loud Kane" Laurissa quickly hushed. "And don't judge me like that just because my family has money."

"Fine, why don't you just tell me why you're here?" Kane attempted to force some coolness into his tone, but his patience-level wouldn't allow it.

"Let's wait for the food" Laurissa answered with a now wicked smile. "Tell me how you and Kirsty met"

"It's a long story" Kane replied.

"I'm not going anywhere"

"We fell in love after the ship I was working on sunk. Almost the whole of Summer bay had been on the boat. We ended up being stranded together along with her mother"

Kane decided not to tell Laurissa about the 'rape'. He didn't want to relive that at all. What Laurissa didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Plus Kane was fairly accepted in the bay now, there was no point in having Laurissa know about his teenage past, though he was curious about hers.

"Romantic" Laurissa quipped.

Before Kane's tale could continue Colleen brought the burger and chips they had ordered. She didn't say at all, but gave Laurissa a dirty look. Neither Kane nor Laurissa noticed at the time though.

"Okay food's here." Kane stated.

"I can't...and won't...tell you all the details, but Ronan and I are here because we saw something we shouldn't have" Laurissa whispered as she ate her chips.

"Wait, Ronan? Who's Ronan?" Kane asked. "And what did you see?"

"Ronan is the "boyfriend"" Laurissa explained using her fingers to make quotation marks. "We were sort of on the verge of break-up before this happened."

Laurissa didn't bother to tell Kane that Ronan's real name was Fred. It was easier for Kane if he didn't know who Fred was at all. Plus Laurissa liked saying the name.

"And like I already said we saw something we shouldn't have" Laurissa repeated.

Kane knew that Laurissa wasn't going to give up the information easily. She had always liked to have mystery in her life. But this wasn't something Kane thought she should mysterious about. In fact it was getting him aggravated. So Kane decided to take a different route.

"Shouldn't you be in some kind of police protection or something then?" Kane asked, remembering all too well what happened when psycho Sarah shot Jesse.

"I refused it" Laurissa answered coolly. "I didn't want to be shoved in some unknown place in Tasmania where they give me some stupid identity"

"It's meant to be for your own protection!"

"Don't you start. I've had enough of this from Ronan. I'd be safer in a place I know anyway. I've wanted to come back to the Bay for ages, this was just a sign"

A few meters away the pair had someone who was watching them. Naturally it had to be the local gossip, Colleen. She was standing by the coffee machine just glaring at Laurissa and Kane. She had only seen Kane act like that with one other girl. His wife. If Colleen had her way Kane was going to be in enormous trouble for this. Colleen felt for Kirsty. After all the poor girl had been through so much in the past couple of months.

"I hope you've got some kind of magical powers that allows you to just stand by the machine while it makes coffee" Alf said as he walked out to the diner from upstairs.

Colleen didn't have a reaction. She continued to watch Kane and Laurissa speak in hushed voices, constantly checking to see if anyone was daring to eavesdrop.

"Colleen" Alf tired again. "Hello woman are you in there?"

"Oh!" Colleen realized that Alf was there.

Alf glanced to where Kane and Laurissa were then back to Colleen. He knew her all too well. Somehow her mind would have jumped to an overdramatic conclusion. Most likely being one that didn't show Kane in the best light.

"It's disgusting Alf" Colleen spat, proving Alf right. "It hasn't even been long since his wife's transplant. Poor Kirsty"

"Swerth woman! Young Kane is just having lunch with the girl, not proposing to her. For all you know she could be his long-lost sister"

Colleen gave Alf a disbelieving look. It was a little far fetched, even for her standard.

"In this town I wouldn't be surprised" Alf muttered, making his way to the booth where the pair in question sat.

"I need you to keep this quiet" Laurissa continued to whisper. "Tell Kirsty if you must, but as far as anyone else knows Ronan and I are a young couple who's parents don't want us to be together"

"Romeo and Juliet story. Been there before" Kane sighed remembering he hadn't told Laurissa the entire story of his marriage.

"Hey you two" Alf said as he approached the table. "Just thought I'd give you the heads up. Colleen has got some idea that you two are here to have an affair. I swear that woman has one too many screws loose"

"What?! How can she think I'd do that to Kirsty" Kane was outraged.

If there was one positive thing just about everyone knew about him was that he was very dedicated to his wife. He would never cheat on her, not even if Miss Universe offered herself to him.

"You know what she's like." Alf sympathy replied. "Unless you're Lancey then she won't hesitate to spread gossip about you. Then again I can never get her to shut up about her son"

Alf knew only too well how Colleen enjoyed to gossip. It usually backfired on her though. He was surprised that hadn't stopped her.

"We'll watch ourselves. Thanks Alf" Kane said to his boss, while glaring at Colleen.

"Who was that?" Laurissa asked. "I'm guessing that waitress is Colleen."

"That's Alf. You don't remember him? He's been here for ages. Owns this diner as well as the boat I work on"

"Oh. I think I remember him. Josh told me that he was still around"

"Josh? As in Josh West?"

"Yeah. He may not be doing all that well at the moment, but I've met him at a few parties and stuff. Family isn't too bad off"

"Small world"

"Summer bay is smaller though"

"Sometimes that isn't a good thing. I suppose we better face miss gossip 2004 and pay the bill"

"Oh let me do it Kane" Laurissa gave him a wicked smile as she slid out from her seat. "I've had to handle one or two gossips at school. It'll be fun"

Kane knew that Laurissa had a twisted sense of humor at times, but wasn't too concerned with it. Colleen probably deserved whatever was coming to her anyway. She had obviously already upset Alf, who was one of the few people in the town who gave Kane a chance.

"Hello. I'd like to pay our bill please Miss" Laurissa began with the pleasant formality she had been taught by her parents.

Colleen didn't say anything. In her mind Laurissa was still a 'hussy'.

"Oh and by the way Colleen" Laurissa's tone changed as she handed over the money. "You might want to have your memory checked out because you should remember that Kane is married! And you obviously don't remember me so don't start making up little fantasies about me being a mistress. This isn't Bold and the Beautiful you know"

Laurissa winked at the old woman and strolled out of the Diner. Kane was a little shocked that someone actually said that to Colleen, but he decided it'd be best not to add anything. Alf however was collecting up Laurissa and Kane's plates with a grin on his face.

"Oh dare she speak to me like that." Colleen huffed.

"You had it coming" Alf replied, receiving a nasty look from his waitress.

Back at the Caravan Park Fred continued to unpack. He had finished with his own stuff and decided to start on Laurissa's. He was surprised at how many different tops could fit into her suitcase. Then again these tops didn't contain all that much material anyway.

Fred looked down at his watch. Laurissa had been gone over an hour now. He supposed that she did find her friend. Kane or something like that. Fred decided that he should go friend his 'girlfriend'. After all it was always planned that he would meet Laurissa's friend. Even when they were dating Laurissa mentioned him once.

Walking out of the caravan Fred followed the path out of the park and headed to the beach. When they were driving down in the car Laurissa described the beach. Fred had seen plenty of beaches before. He did live in Sydney after all. Bondi was the favourite hang out for most of his friends during summer. Sometimes they'd even head to Manley. But never as far as Summer Bay. The only reason Fred had heard of the small town was because of Laurissa.

There was no sign of her on the beach. Fred reached into his pocket, only finding his wallet. He forgot for a moment that the police had his and Laurissa's phones and pagers. Fred wasn't able to get his ipod or laptop in time either. He had none of his favourite gadgets. All he was left with was a few designer clothes. Not even his unlimited credit cards. Fred was someone he had never been before. He was just a common middle class Australian citizen.

The realization his him hard. He wondered how long Laurissa planned to keep him cooped up in the caravan park. It could be months before they heard any news. Fred didn't know how the cops planned to catch up him and Laurissa. He guessed that there'd have to be police station nearby. The police of Summer bay would probably come looking for the pair at some point.

_If you're reading this please reply with any sort of comment you'd like. I don't need an ego boost. I'm enjoying writing this. I'd just be nice to know someone is reading. Thanks_


	3. Meet and Greet

Part 3: The meet and greet

A/N: Just a reminder. Fred and Laurissa don't have any phones with them so they can't contact each other when one of them goes for a walk.

Thank you so much for the replies! Sorry for the delay in posting this. I had Uni stuff to deal with and I got really into reading a Harry Potter fic.

Fred was lost. He had started wondering up the beach not knowing exactly what to do or where to go. All he knew was the docks, the caravan park and the road they had come in on. After about half and hour of walking around the beach Fred decided it might be best to ask someone for directions. He figured that Laurissa probably found her friend. Fred would have to ask someone on the beach if they knew who he was. He hoped that the things about small town communities were true.

He scanned the beach looking for someone to ask. There were a couple of teenage boys mucking around with each other. Fred didn't know it at the time, but he would later know these two boys as Henry and Max. Fred didn't want to ask them. He looked to his left and saw a young couple strolling along the beach with a small baby. Liking the looks of the couple Fred decided to approach them.

"Hello. Sorry to disturb you. My name is Ronan-"Fred stopped for a moment realizing that Laurissa hadn't given him a last name. "I'm looking for Kane Phillips. Do you know where I may be able to find him?"

Flynn gave Fred a suspicious look. Fred didn't look like the average Summer Bay resident. Flynn knew well that Kane had gotten into a bit of trouble in his time; he didn't want to send anymore his way.

"Why are you looking for Kane?" Flynn asked.

"My girlfriend, Holly, went looking for him and now I'm looking for her. Kane is an old friend of hers so I guess she's with him" Fred explained.

Knowing when people were lying was something Flynn had learnt during his years of counseling. Sally had also picked it up through her teaching years. They could both tell that Fred was genuine.

"Just go up here" Sally gestured to a path with her free arm. "Kane lives at the beach house just up the road"

"Thank-you" Fred politely answered before heading up the path.

Kane was to take Laurissa back to the caravan park to briefly meet Fred before going home to Kirsty. Laurissa and Kane had decided shortly after leaving the diner that they'd head into Yabbie Creek for dinner with their partners. Laurissa wanted to know more about the girl who won Kane's heart. Kane wanted to know much more about Laurissa's mysterious arrival in the bay. He didn't care much for meeting Ronan. Laurissa's older brother, David, who Kane had first been friends with, had turned into a rich snob so he expected Ronan to be similar.

The drive from the diner to the caravan park wasn't far. In fact most of time whoever lived at the caravan park would just walk to the diner, but Kane wanted to drive. That was another thing Laurissa liked about Summer bay. You could just walk everywhere. She supposed she could still do that with most places she visited in the city, but you certainly wouldn't want to be doing that beyond dusk.

As they neared the caravan park Kane's patience grew thin. He never had much to begin with and surprised it had lasted this long. Kane supposed it was because of Kirsty. Because of her, Kane was forced to learn to control his temper. But this was Laurissa he was in the car with, not his wife. Laurissa was the girl next door Kane had grown up with and had to say goodbye to before the pair could even start daydreaming about high school together.

"Laurissa, why are you in the bay? What did you see? Who's after you for seeing it?" Kane attempted to discover the truth.

"It's Holly, Kane" Laurissa snapped back with the same frustrated tone that Kane had used.

"We're in my car. No one is going to hear us" Kane grunted back.

"You know change the tone and it sounds like we're up to something" Laurissa joked, avoiding Kane's questions.

"Laurissa tell me the truth. I've already had a lot of stuff kept from me by my parents. Don't be just like them."

Kane decided that the abuse from his father might come in use for something. Laurissa had a slight idea about what had gone on at Kane's place over the years. She had been too young and too scared to do anything about it though. Kane's father terrified her and seeing the scars on Kane's back one day made it a lot worse.

"I know what you're doing."

Laurissa knew that Kane bringing up his family was a trick. He never wanted any sympathy for what happened to him.

"Who's after you?"

"The rich and powerful. That's all I'm saying. I'd prefer it if you stayed somewhat innocent in all of this. It's my fault that Ronan is in this too"

"We used to be close when we were younger"

"Past tense. A lot has happened since then."

"Yeah and you won't tell me what!"

"We're only going to go around in circles Kane. You'll get all dizzy"

Kane had nothing to say to that statement. At this point there didn't seem a way to get Laurissa to tell him what was going on. Kane was surprised he managed to keep his temper under control. Those sessions Flynn had told him to go too seemed to be helping.

"You can be so frustrating do you know that?"

"C'mon. Let's go meet the joy that I call Ronan"

Laurissa changed the subject as she got out of Kane's car.

But Fred was not in the caravan. Laurissa did happily note that he had unpacked everything before disappearing. They gathered that Fred had grown bored and went looking for Laurissa. Kane suggested that they head to the beach house so Kirsty could meet Laurissa. Fred would be likely to turn up there if he asked anyone in the bay about Kane.

By some coincidence Kane and Laurissa pulled up to the beach house at the same time Fred had gotten there. He smiled at the sight of Laurissa, thankful that he found her.

"Hey Ronan. I was wondering where you were" Laurissa causally greeted Fred as if he was her brother rather than her boyfriend.

"I was wondering the same thing. Hey I'm Ronan" Fred introduced himself to Kane.

"Kane" He replied.

"It's good to meet you finally. Laurissa says you two grew up together" Fred commented.

Laurissa stiffed a giggle. Fred did not sound like a teenager at all. She knew that in a small town like Summer bay, Fred would turn on the rich charm. It was a way of proving he was better than people. One of these elements he used was to speak properly like an adult in their community would. Another element was Fred to show of all the gadgets he owned. Laurissa was grateful Fred had none of them here.

"Yeah. Lived next door to each other for about 8 years" Kane replied as they walked into the house.

Kirsty, Tasha and Robbie were sitting on the couches watching TV. Although Kirsty was paying a little more attention than Tasha and Robbie were. They seemed to be more interested in each other than the TV screen. Kirsty was pleased to see that Kane had finally returned home from the boat, but she had no idea who the two strangers were.

"Hey babe" Kane greeted his wife as she got off the couch.

Upon seeing Tasha and Robbie, Laurissa quickly grabbed Fred's hand. If they were going to keep up the story that they were runaway lovers she had to act like they were around everyone except Kane and Kirsty.

"This is Holly and her boyfriend Ronan. Holly and I have been friends since we were kids" Kane explained introducing Laurissa and Fred to the room.

Laurissa's stomach tied in a knot. She wasn't so sure it was a good idea to openly tell everyone she was linked to Kane in that way. Although there was nothing she could do about it now. The gossip queen had already seen them in the diner. The friendship that Laurissa and Kane had was probably common knowledge by now.

"Hi" Laurissa greeted Kirsty and the others with a warm smile. Fred did the same.

"This is Kirsty, my wife. And the two on the couch are Tasha and Robbie" Kane explained.

"I didn't know you had any friends before Kirsty" Tasha said with a smirk.

"Thanks Tash" Kane replied.

Detective Peter Baker sat in his office attempting to organize his files. With Sarah in rehabilitation now Peter had less work to do. Instead he had been given a case from some colleagues in the city. The police Peter currently worked with knew that he had dealt with something similar before and hand handed the case to him.

Peter read through the files he had been given on the case relatively quickly. Pair of teenagers had refused complete police protection and were headed to Summer bay. Although they weren't officially under protection the police had promised to aid the couple in getting a few things such as ID's and money. This what Peter was going to have to deal with. From their files the two teenagers sounded like typical spoiled brats. Peter almost wished that Sarah would break out.

"Baker" Someone called from outside his office. "The duo from the city is here"

Laurissa and Fred then entered Peter's office. After their visit to the beach house Fred had reminded Laurissa that the police were expecting them to 'check in'. Laurissa wasn't too keen, as she knew the police would still try and tempt her into official protection.

"Hello, you must be Laurissa and Fred. I'm detective Baker" Peter greeted shaking their hands before they all sat down.

"Yeah, but we're going by the aliases of Holly and Ronan while we're here" Laurissa explained.

"Okay. That was a good idea. People in this town like to know who other people are. Giving them fake names would make it hard for them to find out anything about you" Peter said speaking from experience with Leah. "I suppose I better organize from ID's for you. What did you too plan to do until its safe to return to the city? You'd both still be in school right? I can contact Summer Bay high and have to enrolled"

"Well I was actually studying law at Sydney University Detective Baker." Fred proudly told Peter.

Laurissa rolled her eyes. It was predictable that Fred would become a lawyer. His entire family was either upper-class lawyers or doctors. Fred nearly fainted when they dissected a rat in Biology so therefore he went into law. There was no way Laurissa was going down that path. Laurissa had no idea what she planned to do.

"I can organize for a transfer for you to Summer bay University. It shouldn't be too difficult. I have a few contacts in the administration department at Sydney Uni" Peter told Fred.

"I suppose I'm off to high school then?" Laurissa asked.

"Yes, the headmistress there is a friend of a friend. Small town you know. She'll be happy to have you" Peter replied.


End file.
